Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. Filmed in a Belfast studio and on location elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Malta, Scotland, Croatia, Iceland and Morocco, it premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011. Two days after the fourth season premiered in April 2014, HBO renewed Game of Thrones for a fifth and sixth season.[4]

The series, set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos at the end of a decade-long summer, interweaves several plot lines. The first follows the members of several noble houses in a civil war for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the rising threat of the impending winter and the mythical creatures of the North; the third chronicles the attempts of the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed dynasty to reclaim the throne. Through its morally ambiguous characters, the series explores the issues of social hierarchy, religion, loyalty, corruption, civil war, crime, and punishment.[5]

Game of Thrones has attracted record numbers of viewers on HBO and obtained an exceptionally broad and active international fan base. It received widespread acclaim by critics, although its frequent use of nudity, violence and sexual violence has attracted criticism. The series has won numerous awards and nominations, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series in all three seasons, a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series – Drama, a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in both Long Form and Short Form, and a Peabody Award. Among the ensemble cast, Peter Dinklage won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Tyrion Lannister.

Game of Thrones roughly follows the three storylines of A Song of Ice and Fire.[6] Set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for control of the Iron Throne. As the series opens, additional threats emerge in the icy North and in the eastern continent of Essos.[2]

The novels and their adaptation derive settings, characters and plot elements from much of European history.[7] A principal inspiration for the novels were the English Wars of the Roses[8] (1455–85) between the houses of Lancaster and York, reflected in Martin's houses of Lannister and Stark. Most of Westeros, with its castles and knightly tournaments, is reminiscent of High Medieval Western Europe. The scheming Cersei, for instance, calls to mind Isabella (1295–1358), the "she-wolf of France".[7] She and her family, as depicted in Maurice Druon's historical novel series The Accursed Kings, particularly inspired Martin.[9] The series also combines such varied inspirations as Hadrian's Wall (which became Martin's great Wall), the fall of Rome and the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Byzantine "Greek fire" ("wildfire"), Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn) and the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), as well as elements from the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) and the Italian Renaissance (c. 1400–1500).[7] The series' great popularity has in part been attributed to Martin's skill at fusing these disparate elements into a seamless whole that appears credible on its own terms as an alternative history.[7]

"The Sopranos in Middle-earth" is the tagline showrunner David Benioff jokingly suggested for Game of Thrones, referring to its intrigue-filled plot and dark tone combined with a fantasy setting.[10] In a 2012 study, the series was listed second out of 40 recent U.S. TV drama series by deaths per episode, with an average of 14.[11][12]

Like the novels it adapts, Game of Thrones has a sprawling ensemble cast, estimated to be the largest on television.[13] During the production of the third season, 257 cast names were recorded.[14] The following overview reduces the list of characters in Game of Thrones to those played by the actors credited as part of the main cast.[15]

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of the Stark family whose members are involved in most of the series's intertwined plot lines. He and his wife Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley) have five children: the eldest, Robb (Richard Madden), the dainty Sansa (Sophie Turner), the tomboy Arya (Maisie Williams), the adventurous Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and the youngest, Rickon (Art Parkinson). Ned's hostage and ward Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) used to live with the Starks before encountering the sadistic Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb's wife is the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), and Arya has befriended the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry (Joe Dempsie). Ned's bastard son Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his friend Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo). The red-haired Ygritte (Rose Leslie), one of the Wildlings led by Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), is Jon Snow's romantic interest, and Sam cares for the young Wildling Gilly (Hannah Murray). Catelyn is served by the tall warrior Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).

Ned's old friend King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) shares a loveless marriage with Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who has taken her twin, the "Kingslayer" Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as her secret lover. She loathes her younger brother, the clever dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who is attended by his mistress Shae (Sibel Kekilli) and the sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn). Cersei's father is the fabulously wealthy Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and her oldest son, the sadistic Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "the Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann).

Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the king overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are on the run for their lives, trying to win back the throne. Daenerys has been married to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), the leader of the nomadic Dothraki, and is guarded by the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen).

According to David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the two came up with the idea of adapting George R. R. Martin's novels to the screen in 2006, after Benioff began reading the first novel, A Game of Thrones. He called Weiss to share his excitement, and Weiss finished the thousand-page book in "maybe 36 hours".[16] They successfully pitched the series to HBO, and convinced Martin – a veteran screenwriter himself – in the course of a five-hour meeting in a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard to agree to the idea. Benioff recalled that they won Martin over with their answer to his question: "Who is Jon Snow's mother?"

The series began development in January 2007.[17] HBO, after acquiring the TV rights to the novels, hired Benioff and Weiss to write and executive produce the series, which would cover one novel's worth of material per season.[17] Initially, it was planned that Benioff and Weiss would write every episode save one per season, which Martin, who also joined as a co-executive producer, was attached to write.[17][18] Jane Espenson and Bryan Cogman were later added to each write one episode of the first season.[2]

The first and second drafts of the pilot script, written by Benioff and Weiss, were submitted in August 2007[19] and June 2008,[20] respectively. While HBO found both drafts to their liking,[20][21] a pilot was not ordered until November 2008,[22] with the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike possibly delaying the process.[21]

The budget of Game of Thrones has been compared to that of the TV series Rome.[23] The pilot reportedly cost HBO between US$5 and 10 million,[24] and the total budget for the first season has been estimated at US$50–60 million.[25] In the second season, the show obtained a 15% increase in budget in order to be able to stage the most important battle in the "clash of kings," the civil war that is the season's focus.[26]